Walk a Mile
by Fluffy Sheep
Summary: A girl at the orphanage that goes by the name of Mile is taking an interest in Near. One day she finally gathers her courage and approaches him, much to his surprise. Near x OC. Written as a story swap with one of my best friends. She ADORES Near.
1. The Best Afternoon : Mile's POV

Mile leaned against a wall in the corridor, watching the kids running by. It was free time, and the first sunny day in over a week, so they were all rushing outside.

All of them except one.

Mile could see him from here. Not that she was staring, or anything. And it wasn't that she liked him like that. No...she just...liked him. But not like that.

Right...

She smoothed out her shirt and stared at her feet, listening to the kids hurrying by. Then she caught a familiar voice mixed in with the others. It was Linda. Her best friend, Linda. Linda was one of the nicest kids in Wammy's House. She was sure of that.

"Hey Mile" Linda stopped in front of her. Jay was with her, a large kid in glasses. Mile didn't like him, he had too much of a tendency to be mean.

"Hi Linda" Mile said, looking up at her.

"Are you coming outside with us, or what?" Linda asked, smiling happily.

"Er...no...I...I think I'll stay here."

Linda studied her face, and Mile felt her face going red. She tried looking away, but knowing Linda, she probably understood anyways.

And she did. Without a word, she walked away, toward the room where he was sitting, doing a puzzle. Jay followed, looking impatient.

_Oh no! What's she trying to do?! _Mile panicked in her head.Linda should know how she hated things like this. _Don't ask him...don't ask him... _She chanted to herself. But she knew she would. Her and Linda knew each other very well by now. Too well, sometimes. Then she heard Linda calling out. _Oh great...here we go..._

"Hey Near!" She called, sweetly "Why don't you come outside for once?" Mile felt her face go red again, and she looked down. This was not at all what she had wanted Linda to do.

"No thank you" Came his steady voice.

"Forget him, Linda" Jay said, sneering. Linda looked back at Mile and locked eyes with her, looking apologetic. Then she shrugged, turned, and allowed Jay to push her outside.

But Mile had forgotten about feeling embarrassed. She even forgot about being angry with Linda. Jay's comment erased all that, and replaced it with an internal argument. _Forget him, Linda. _How could he say that? _Forget Near, Linda._ How could anyone do that, anyways? _Forget_....No!...._Forget_...That was ridiculous!...

Mile put the tip of her finger in her mouth and stared at the wall across from her without seeing it. She couldn't forget Near. Never! Wait, wait, wait. This is getting stupid. Why should she care so much about a comment Jay made, when she didn't even like Near, like that!

Unless, of course, she did.

No, no, no!

That wasn't possible! That would be...wrong! She couldn't _like_ Near. How silly! That would get her nowhere. That would give her pain. She knew it would! Ridiculous to even _think_ that she liked Near...like that. Her head told her that she didn't, that she couldn't, that it was a ridiculous thought.

But her heart knew better.

_Well, you do have a bit of a fascination with him_. It reminded her. No...no she didn't! What was she saying? Stupid heart. Shut up. But we all know hearts never do that. Especially if they know better. They simply ignored your head and your mouth and kept arguing.

_You know you do, Mile. Now do something about it_. _After all, if you didn't, you wouldn't have gotten so mad at Jay's comment._

No, no she certainly would have! It was rude, however you looked at it!

_You even stayed inside to watch him do puzzles._

Fine! So her heart was right, and it won out at last. Stupid thing. It must've wanted to get hurt. However, she knew it was right, and she knew how stubborn it was. All the same, she was glad she had it to tell her when she was being an idiot.

_Forget him, Linda._

Anger surged through her once again. He treated Near as if he had no feelings! Like he couldn't even hear his rude voice! He wasn't a doll! He was a person! A wonderful person! A great person! An amazing person! A...

She stopped mid-thought. All of a sudden, she felt suppressed feelings storm through her like water that had been held back by a dam. She knew it was true now, there was no doubt, and no way to suppress it anymore. Going beyond like...She loved Near. She really loved him.

She took a deep breath, feeling the air flow into her newly feeling-filled chest. Then she walked over to the room where Near was. She couldn't keep this locked up any longer. She had to do something about it. He didn't look up as she walked in. He didn't even look up when she was standing right by him. For a moment, she was worried he'd ignore her, but when she sat down, he finally looked up.

She couldn't help smiling at the look on his face. He looked slightly surprised, but not completely surprised, as if he were trying to keep his emotions to himself. Mile knew he wasn't used to people coming up to him like this. They usually either ignored him, like Jay, or said something like Linda then walked away, not thinking about him too hard.

"Hi" Mile said timidly. "Can I sit here?"

"Okay" Near nodded stiffly, and turned back to his puzzle. She betted he definitely wasn't used to people asking him that. She watched Near clicking the pieces together, one after the other, keeping up a pace like a clock.

_Clack, clack, clack. _

He did it perfectly in time, even though the puzzle was blank, and had a lot of pieces.

_Clack, clack..._

Near broke the perfect time, looking to the left for the next piece, but Mile saw it next to her right hand. She picked it up and held it out, so that he saw it when he turned around again.

"...Thank you" he said, taking the piece from her hand. He quickly resumed the putting together of pieces, as if the time had never been broken. Mile watched him do it. She felt transfixed. Her thoughts didn't wander to outside, where the kids were playing, or anywhere else. They just stayed stuck on Near, like a cloud without a breath of wind to push it along. Nothing made her want to look away, or do anything else. There was no wind at all to make her mind move away from Near.

But Near broke her trance with his voice.

"Why are you here?" He asked, without breaking the clack of puzzle pieces.

"Huh?" Mile struggled to come back to earth. "Oh, um..." She felt stupid. Why _was _she here? He had asked the question she couldn't answer herself. She was probably in his way, anyways.

"Do you...want me to leave?" Mile asked carefully. She was offering to do the thing she wanted to do the least of all. She held her breath as she waited for Near's response. She was so sure he'd send her away.

Near looked up, pausing his clacking of puzzle pieces, and stared at her blankly for a moment. Mile felt her face go red. She really hated when that happened.

"No." Near said simply.

"Ah...Wha..?"

"I like your company." Near said. A light pink blush spread across his cheeks. Mile was so surprised she felt he mouth fall open a little. He...blushed! For her!

"I...I like your company, too, Near" Mile said softly. "I guess that's why I'm here." _Nothing like understating things, _she added in her head.

Near smiled at her, as if he read her thoughts. The smile he gave her wasn't like one she'd ever seen before. It was the cutest thing! She couldn't help but smile too.

Near turned back to his puzzle. Mile watched him put it together, handing him a piece every now and then, until he turned with another question.

"It was so nice of you" he said.

"Hmm?" Mile looked at him, but he kept his eyes on his puzzle this time.

"I mean...sitting with me all afternoon. Aren't you bored?"

"No." Mile found the answer springing out of her mouth. It was so obvious in her mind, that it seemed a silly question. "Of course not."

"Most people just leave after I say I won't come outside...If they bother to ask at all."

"Oh...Well, this is one of the best afternoons I've ever had." Mile felt the words run out of her mouth, like the kids running out the door earlier, and she didn't get a chance to stop them. Why the heck was she being so honest today?

"Really?" Near seemed surprised. He stopped clacking together the puzzle to look up at her.

"Definitely top five." _Have I lost the power to hold back altogether now?_ She added to herself.

"Thank you" he said. He quickly looked down at his puzzle again, to hide the light pink blush that had spread over his cheeks, but Mile just caught it before he looked away.

Mile turned red again herself, wondering why Near could possibly be turning pink over her. She looked out the window for the first time all afternoon. She saw Mid, Mello's number one admirer these days. Mello was holding her bridal style, and she was holding her nose. Mile smiled to herself...she always liked Mid, and she could tell how much she loved Mello.

"You have a pretty smile." Near said. She hadn't even noticed Near was looking at her.

"I...What? Why?" Mile said, sounding alarmed and turning red once again. Mile didn't accept compliments nearly as often as she thought there was a catch to them.

"I said you have a pretty smile." he said, taking her questions literally. "Because it looks...sweet." He turned pink but he didn't look down this time, he looked Mile in the eye.

"Oh...thanks..." Mile looked back at him, and they looked at each other. Mile didn't know how long it was they looked at each other. But she jumped pretty far when she heard the front doors opening again and kids running back inside. "Oh...It's almost time to leave again" Mile felt disappointment, and although she tried, she couldn't keep it out of her voice. Near didn't miss it either.

"You could...sit with me again tomorrow" he said carefully.

"Really?" Mile felt happiness warm her up inside. Near nodded. This was crazy!

"See you tomorrow then" Mile said, smiling hugely.

"See you tomorrow" Near replied.

Mile stood up, her legs slightly shaky from sitting down so long and from Near's sudden liking of her. She walked from the room, already longing for tomorrow afternoon, thinking of Near's cute pink blush.


	2. The Best Afternoon : Near's POV

The sun shone through the open window for the first time in over a week. All the kids were really excited about it; running out the door as they were. But Near didn't want to go outside. He never did like going outside. So he put his puzzle down on the floor and knocked all the pieces out. There was nothing on it except an L in the top left hand corner. He really liked this puzzle, since it was pretty difficult. Near set to work, forgetting the other kids around, just hearing the sound of the puzzle pieces fitting together

_Clack, clack, clack._

"Near!" someone was calling out to him after all. He didn't need to look up, he knew it was Linda. "Why don't you come outside for once?"

"No thank you" He answered steadily. He knew that two minutes later she would forget all about him. So what was the point?

"Forget him Linda" That was Jay. He was always so mean. Near felt a pang of hurt, but he kept his face carefully composed. Jay acted as if he couldn't hear him. But he could. And words _did_ hurt, whatever any stupid rhyme might say. Near didn't play with the other kids, but he didn't want to be forgotten. There was nothing he could do about it though. He doubted anyone would care about him enough to come to him and talk, instead of walking away and leaving him. Forgetting him.

Ha, ha. He was wrong for once there.

He heard someone walking into the room, but he didn't look up. Who knows what they were in here for? Maybe someone forgot something. Or maybe it was a teacher. But it was one of the kids. She sat down right next to him. He was totally surprised...what a coincidence, after his last thoughts. But no...he shouldn't get his hopes up. She'd probably be going soon. Carefully, he tried hide the surprise from his face. It was kind of difficult. The girl smiled at him. He knew her name...it was Mile.

"Hi" she said shyly "Can I sit here?" Near quickly composed his face, not wanting to show her how shocked he was. He stared at her for a moment, not knowing what to say.

_Snap out of it! Keep control._ He told himself.

"Okay" he nodded, then quickly turned back to his puzzle, avoiding her gaze. The big, difficult blank puzzle. He liked the clacking, in time like a clock.

_Clack, clack, clack._

He made himself keep it up as in time as he could, but he misplaced a piece. He thought for sure it was to his left, but when he looked, it wasn't there. He got mad at himself for slipping up, but as usual, he took care to keep it off his face. When he turned, Mile was holding out the correct piece.

"Thank you" He said, taking it from her hand. Then he resumed the time of the pieces, taking care not to break it this time. For a while, she just sat there watching him. He clacked together all the little pieces, and she watched him. What could possibly be so interesting about his puzzle to her? He thought about it for a while, before the curiosity got the better of him.

"Why are you here?" He asked. _Not to be blunt or anything._ He added to himself, cringing slightly at his choice of words.

"Huh? Oh, um..." She sounded like she was snapping out of a daydream; all befuddled as she stumbled over her words. "...Do you want me to leave?"

He looked up. The poor girl looked as if she had just offered to kill her own cat for him.

Curious thing too. She was turning red. Was it because he was looking at her too long?

"No." he said simply. _Yes, keep it simple, Near. _He told himself.

"Ah...wha?" she looked completely surprised. He might as well be honest with her then.

"I like your company" his own words embarrassed him, and he felt blood rush into his cheeks. Her mouth fell open a little in surprise, which amused him, but he didn't smile.

"I...I like your company too Near" she said "I guess that's why I'm here"

_Go figure._ Near thought, kind of happily. He gave her a smile like the one L tended to use. She smiled back at him. Her smile reminded him of one a kid would have when given an ice cream as a surprise. He went back to working on the puzzle. He slipped up a few more times, and each time, she handed him the puzzle piece he needed. He felt less...empty...when she was here. But she must be bored stupid.

"It was nice of you" he said suddenly. That seemed the right thing to say. Straightforward.

"Hmm?" he saw her move her head up out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't look up this time. He didn't want to get embarrassed again.

"I mean...sitting with me all afternoon. Aren't you bored?" Yes, straightforward.

"No" she answered simply. "Of course not"

_What the heck does she mean by that...?_

"Most people just leave after I say I won't come outside...If they bother to ask at all." Near was careful not to spill any bitterness into his voice. All the bitterness he felt inside.

"Oh...well this was one of the best afternoons I've ever had" she said.

_Wait a second_. Near felt an idea forming in his head. _What if she...?_

"Really?" he said, not showing his thoughts on his face or in his voice.

"Definitely top five" she said. Her cheeks began to change color again.

That settled it. Near knew it now.

_She really...she...loves me, doesn't she?_

"Thank you" he said, fighting to keep the emotion out of his voice now. He felt blood rush even faster into his cheeks again, and he quickly looked down.

_Amazing. This is just amazing._ Near always felt bitterness. It hurt him, but he fought not to show anyone. Then this girl came along...and the bitterness started to ease. Yes...this girl...he had never felt like this before. It was weird and irrational, but he didn't want to leave her. Ever.

_I love her._

Near was shocked by his own thought. He couldn't help himself, and he looked up at Mile once again. She was looking out the window and smiling. Curiously, he threw a sidelong glance out the window. Mid and Mello were out there. Mello was holding Mid bridal style, but he didn't pay much attention to the part of this brain that said _What the hell?_ He was thinking of something else...

"You have a pretty smile" he told her.

"I...What? Why?" she looked alarmed, and turned red again. Near felt weightlessness inside. It made him in the mood for laughing again...in the mood for a joke. He decided to take her questions literally.

"I said you have a pretty smile" he said "Because it looks...sweet." Oh, his little joke was ruined by his honesty. He didn't look down when he felt the blood rushing back into his cheeks yet again, though. He looked Mile straight in the eye, attempting to forget his embarrassment, so that he could _show_ her...

"Oh...thanks" she said timidly. He still didn't look down, though. He needed to make sure she knew he loved her...he had to make sure he knew she loved him, too. They looked at each other for so long that Mile jumped when the front doors opened and all the kids started running inside.

"Oh...I guess it's time to leave again" Mile said. There was no mistaking the awful disappointment in her voice.

"You could...sit with me again tomorrow" Near said carefully, as if he were handling a little china doll.

"Really?" Mile's face brightened so fast that Near would have missed it had he blinked. He nodded in answer.

"See you tomorrow then" she said happily.

"See you tomorrow" Near replied blankly.

She got up, looking kind of shaky, and walked from the room. He watched her walk away before he moved himself.

_Is it tomorrow yet?_ He allowed himself to smile at his childish little thought.

But how could he help it?


	3. Near's Plan : Mile's POV

The sky was blue. The grass was green. The walls were painted white. The gates outside were black. The floor was light brown. The lead Linda colored with was red. The hoodie Mid wore was purple. And she was in love with Near. It was weird now, how it feel into place with her life like the colors around her. Every day, Mile found she couldn't wait for free time. All she could think about was how she would get to spend the afternoon sitting beside Near. And each afternoon they asked each other different questions. Slowly..slowly...they broke the walls down between each other. Mile could feel it. She felt the walls build up elsewhere, blocking out everyone else, but she didn't care. She was happy.

What's your favorite book? Near had asked one day. What's your favorite color? He had asked another time. Soon they knew each other inside and out, and Mile was always with Near.

Inside, she knew they felt like more than friends. But neither of them had made any action of that. Not until that one quiet afternoon.

Everyone was outside, and it was very quiet in the little room that Mile and Near were sitting in, next to a big pile of Lego blocks. The window was closed today, so that only a few muffled noises from the kids outside managed to float in.

Mile hummed to herself as she stacked the Lego blocks in a color pattern that Near had told her to make. _Yellow rectangle here...green rectangle here...blue square here...red rectangle here...yellow square here...green...?_

"Near" Mile said "I need a green square block here." He usually had the block she needed on hand, and ready to give her. But now he shrugged. Mile frowned and looked around. How was it possible that _all_ the type of blocks she needed were nowhere in sight?

"Near" Mile repeated, looking at him in suspicion.

"What?" he said it so innocently, Mile could have believed him. But she knew him better than she knew Linda by now.

"I bet you've got that block in your hand or something"

"Come and see."

Mile blushed a little, then crawled over the other blocks and over to him. She peaked over his shoulder. His left hand was closed in a fist.

"I see it Near" Mile said, reaching around him to his fist.

"No you don't." Mile frowned. Technically, that was true.

"Show me your...fist..." Mile stretched forward, reaching out for his fist, with the block she needed inside it. Near reached in the opposite direction, holding it away from her.

"Hey!" Mile moved in front of him now, sounding annoyed, but smiling. She tried reaching for it, but Near moved his hand backwards over his head. Not even thinking, Mile reached for it anyways, moving closer and closer to Near. Near moved further and further back, until he was lying on the floor. Mile kept reaching out, and Near stretched up as far as he could, trying to keep it away from her.

But then Mile froze, realizing what she was doing. Lying over Near like this...! Her cheeks caught on fire, and Near was pink too.

"Oh...um..." she stammered nervously. But Near didn't seem to want to talk. He raised his head up, carefully, and put his lips to hers. Mile's heart felt like it skipped three beats at once. No way! Near's lips were as soft as his hair...maybe even softer. Gently, she put her hand on his cheek, and he swung his arms around her neck. She had to suppress a giggle over that.

_Not the best time to giggle! _She told herself sternly.

They pulled away from each other, and just looked in each other's eyes. Mile wondered dully in the back of her mind if Near had planned that.

Mile sat up, with Near's arms still around her neck. She pulled him into her lap, and he rested his head on her shoulder. Unable to help herself, she put a hand in his hair and stroked it. It was so soft!

"Sorry about that" Near said. Mile laughed.

"That was the dumbest thing you ever said" she said playfully. Near smiled at her happily. "I bet you planned that though."

Near simply shrugged.

Mile sat back against the blocks, forgetting everything except Near, sitting in her arms. Mile let her own head rest on Near's. She felt so peaceful in the quiet little room. It felt so amazingly nice to have Near this close to her. It felt _right,_ somehow or another.

Suddenly, the door to the room burst open. Mile jumped so far she nearly knocked Near out of her arms. He scrambled out himself though, and quickly sat on the floor elsewhere, turning pink. But is was just Mid. She caught Mile's eye and winked.

"Really sorry" she said. "Mello left his DS game in here, and Matt wants it...and you know how Matt is with games."

Neither Mile or Near answered her, but she didn't seem to mind, she just took the game off a nearby shelf, smiling to herself, and left.

"Way to interrupt" Mile muttered, standing up.

"It's fine" Near said "There's always tomorrow's free time." He was looking down, but Mile could picture the fresh pink coloring in his cheeks.

Mile laughed, and looked around the room. Oh, there they were. Behind the wall Near had built, was a pile of green square blocks. Mile shook her head and gave Near a happy smile.

"Cheater" she joked.

She bent down to sit by him once again.

And everything felt perfect.


	4. Near's Plan : Near's POV

Every day, Near found himself letting Mile into his life more and more. She inched her way in, and he didn't try to stop it. Several times he thought it was going to go wrong and something would happen and he would slip up and start getting distracted by her, but he didn't. And even if he did, at this point, he didn't care.

So instead, he pulled her closer. He asked her questions, trying to define her inner character in his mind, so he would know her better then any other person. He started with simple questions like her favorite color and her favorite books, and then worked his way up to more personal questions about her past. In turn, she asked him questions, and for the first time, he allowed someone to know a little bit about himself, and answered them all with honesty.

After all this, however, he still felt as if something was missing. He knew they both knew they were more than friends...that they loved each other. This was a big thing to Near, since he couldn't remember loving anyone very well, having he came to the orphanage at a young age. He wasn't quite sure how to express it, so he decided to look it up.

He sat in a corner of the library with an encyclopedia, and looked up "love." It felt almost foreboding to be looking at it, but he read on, glancing in several directions to make sure no one would see him.

_Geez, all I need is for Mello to come in and see this..._

He read the entire article quicky, jumping when people walked in. But he soaked up the new information like a sponge anyway. Then he began to formulate a plan.

It wasn't until a week later that Near actually put the plan into action. He and Mile were sitting in the room in which they had their first afternoon together. It was sunny out, so all the kids were outside. Near shut the windows, muffling the sounds of the kids outside before sitting on the floor to wait for Mile.

"Hey, Near!" she greeted cheerily when she came in. "What are you working on?"

"A Lego tower" he answered steadily, then came over and began pointing out the pattern he was making, showing her which blocks were to go where. She nodded, memorizing it, and they both set to work.

Every time Near added a block to the tower, he also hid a green square behind it. There was another one tucked away into his pyjama top pocket, waiting. Eventually Mile stared humming, probably without noticing. It made him feel calmer and relaxed, pushing back some of the nervousness that had built ever since she came into the room.

"Near" she said suddenly, breaking off her humming "I need a green square block here"

The plan was on now. He snuck the block from the pocket into his hand as he shrugged.

"Near" she repeated, suspicion filling her voice.

"What?" he asked, putting as much innocence into his voice as possible. He knew she knew him too well to be fooled by it.

"I bet you've got that block in your hand or something" she insisted. Near allowed himself to smile a little at how well he had predicted her thoughts.

"Come and see" he said, his heart skipping a beat at the boldness and slight suggestiveness of his own words. Nonetheless however, there was a slight shuffling noise as she moved around the blocks towards him. He let his left hand rest in an obvious place as she looked over his shoulder.

"I see it, Near" she said upon seeing his fist, reaching out towards it.

"No you don't" he countered. She paused in her movement, probably realizing he was right, then started again.

"Show me your...fist" she said, stretching close to him.

"Hey!" she said, sounding annoyed when he pulled his fist away. She jumped in front of him, showing her smiling face, betraying the false annoyance in her voice. She reached for the block again, and Near moved backwards, lifting the block over his head. Mile followed it with her eyes like a cat, and without even thinking, moved forward to try to get it. Near moved away, moving back slowly until he was lying on the ground. Mile lid over him, still looking at the block. He felt his cheeks begin to burn and his heart start to hammer.

_Oh wow...she's pretty_. He thought dazedly _And very, __**very**__ close._

Mile didn't realize what she was doing until a second later, then she froze, her cheeks blazing red.

"Oh...um..." she stammered, moving slightly to get up. By this time, Near's mind was gone from being so close to Mile this way. It was a nice feeling. There were no calculations in his mind for once, just...Mile. He reached up before she could move any further and kissed her softly on the lips. She froze for the second time in surprise.

The moment their lips met and Mile's fingers started stroking his cheek, he forgot everything he read in the encyclopedia, and threw his arms around her neck. She smiled into the kiss, but didn't stop until a moment later.

They looked into each other's eyes, each reflecting the other's surprise.

Mile sat up slowly. Near didn't let his arms slip away from her neck as she did. When she was sitting upright, she pulled him into her lap and he rested her head on her shoulder. She immediately started stroking his hair.

_She does that every time she gets a chance._ Near thought in amusement, but quickly sobered.

"Sorry about that" he said in embarrassment. But Mile just laughed.

"That was the dumbest thing you ever said" she joked. He smiled up at her, glad he hadn't messed things up "I bet you planned it though"

_Of course I did. How else would I have managed to do that?_

Near shrugged and smiled slightly to himself.

Mile rested her head on his, cuddling into him and propping her back up against the blocks behind them. His brain relaxed like it had earlier, thinking only "Mile" without any calculations. A peace settled over both of them, and Near found himself wishing he could stay there in her arms forever.

Forever was cut awfully short, however, when the door burst open, causing Mile - who was a very jumpy person even without the current circumstances - to jump so violently he almost flew out of her arms. He used the motion to propel himself forward and quickly sat elsewhere, his cheeks flaring up once again. He sighed slightly in relief, though, when he saw it was only Mid. He could've sworn he saw her wink at Mile...

"Really sorry" she said. "Mello left his DS game in here, and Matt wants it...and you know how Matt is with games"

Neither of them replied, but she went on about what she was doing, smiling to herself as she grabbed the game and left again, shutting the door behind her.

"Way to interrupt" Mile said irritably under her breath as she stood up.

"It's fine" Near said, looking down to hide his burning cheeks "There's always tomorrow's free time." Mile laughed, and then grew silent for a moment before breaking the silence once again.

"Cheater" she said with laughter in her voice.

_Whatever works. _Near thought, but he didn't say it.

She bent down to sit with him again.

And everything was okay.


	5. Bonus Chapter : Favorites

_Note #1 : This part takes place the night after the afternoon in the first chapter. It was completely spontaneous, but I liked it in the end, so I posted it, even though it's really short. I don't think I'll add anything else to this story though._

_Note #2 : If you were wondering who Mid is, she's the main character in my friend's story. Remember I told you we did a story swap? I thought I'd insert her into my story somehow, since it'd be nice for them both to connect. Oh, and she has just posted her story. It's in my favorites, under the name "Mello falls for her, love story" by milelovesjasper. Please check it out!_

_Note #3 : Thank you so much for the reviews, they are greatly appreciated and mean a lot to me! I'd like to see some more! ^_^_

_Anyways, that's all for now...on with the story!_

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Near stared at his robot. The robot was one of his favorites. He liked it because it was complicated to put back to together after it broke. Examining the little parts, he realized he had never made favorites of people before. The kids at Wammy's House were mostly the same to him. Sometimes they asked him to come outside, but they never ever sat with him all afternoon.

Not today.

You _could_ make favorites of people...but Near hadn't thought much of it before, that was all. There was never really any need to. Mostly, they didn't care too much about him, so he didn't care too much for them either.

Until today.

Today, Mile had come up to him and sat by him all afternoon. For a while, he had been trying to figure out why she wasn't bored, but after seeing her red cheeks, he had guessed why.

And he had such a peculiar feeling himself.

He had never been liked by anyone like that before. This was something new. Near sat down on the bed and put his robot on his lap, staring off into space. It was a little bit crazy to rely on other people sometimes. Because sometimes, they weren't really trustworthy. Near had always been careful about that. He didn't particularly dislike the other kids, but he didn't really like them either.

Except for maybe one.

Mile. And her pretty smile.

Near almost didn't want to think about it. What if she hurt him? He didn't want to feel bad. He didn't like to feel bad. Near looked down at his robot and pulled a screwdriver out of the bedside drawer to tighten a screw in it's arm. He could put her back together when she broke, too. Yes...she had already started to do that to him.

He had been so surprised when Mile had asked to sit by him. She was actually quite pretty. And it didn't at all seem like she would hurt him. She had even stayed there all afternoon. No...she wasn't like the others at all. The other's ignored him. The others barely even thought about him. And Mile? Mile _loved_ him.

Near felt tears pushing at his eyes. But no, he wouldn't let them out. Not even when he was alone. He forced himself not to show any sign of weakness. Not ever. He looked so tiny, especially compared to Mello. There was no way he'd show another sign of being weak.

So he blinked hard. It just felt so good to be loved.

He put his robot and screwdriver down and turned to look at the other robots he had around his little dorm room. There were some he really liked and some he wasn't nearly so fond of. Then he turned to his favorite one, lying on his bed.

If Mile was anything, she was his favorite.

Yes, Mile was his favorite person.

He picked up his robot again and stared at it, remembering her smile.

She had already snuck into his heart.

His very favorite...


End file.
